Posts by Doug Mataconis

Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Was The Russia Investigation The Real Reason For Comey’s Firing? It Sure Seems Like It

There seems to be no question that the decision to fire James Comey was motivated largely by the President’s frustrations over the fact that his campaign is under investigation.

President Trump Fires F.B.I. Director James Comey

Less than a week after revealing that the F.B.I. was investigating the Trump campaign regarding ties with Russia, F.B.I. Director James Comey has been fired by President Trump.

South Korea Elects New President Who Favors Dialogue With North Korea

South Korea has elected a new President who breaks with his impeached predecessor in favoring dialogue with the North.

Fourth Circuit Appears Skeptical Of Government’s Arguments Defending Trump’s Muslim Travel Ban

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals heard argument yesterday in the appeal of an order barring travel from six Muslim countries, and it didn’t appear to go well for the attorneys defending the ban.

Trump’s Military Advisers Want Him To Expand America’s Longest War

America’s longest war is still going on, and President Trump’s advisers want him to continue his predecessor’s policies of continuing to re-expand American forces in a war that has seemingly no end.

Momentum On GOP Health Care Reform Bill Set To Slow Down Significantly In The Senate

The American Health Care Act may have sailed through the House, but the Senate is another story.

Macron Scores Decisive Win Over Le Pen In French Presidential Election

Centrist candidate Emmanuelle Macron scored a decisive win over the far-right Marine Le Pen in today’s runoff round of the French Presidential election.

Measles Cases Soar In Minnesota Thanks To Anti-Vaccination Activists Targeting Somali Immigrants

Thanks to anti-vaccination activists spreading false propaganda, measles cases are hitting record highs among the Somali immigrant community in Minnesota.

Macron Holds Decisive Lead Over Le Pen As French Election Heads Into Final Hours

Emmanuel Macron holds a decisive lead over Marine Le Pen as the French Presidential election heads into its final hours.

April Jobs Report Bounces Back From March Doldrums

The Jobs Report for April showed much-improved numbers from the disappointment in March.

House GOP Passes American Health Care Act On Party Line Vote

By the barest of margins, the House passed its bill repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, but the future of that bill is highly uncertain.

North Korea Lashes Out At Chinese Pressure Over Nuclear Program

North Korea is pushing back against increased pressure from China over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.

Jim Comey Explains Himself

F.B.I. Director James Comey testified yesterday on the reasons he chose to publicly speak out just days before the 2016 election about the reopened Clinton email investigation.

House To Vote On Obamacare Repeal Bill Today

After failing twice in a month, House Republicans apparently think they have the votes to pass their bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

Jim DeMint Out At Heritage

There’s been a palace coup at The Heritage Foundation.

House Republicans Making Yet Another Push To Repeal And Replace Obamacare

House Republicans are making yet another push to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, but they once again may not have the votes.

South Carolina Police Officer To Plead Guilty In Walter Scott Shooting

A guilty plea in a particularly shocking case of police brutality.

What Trump’s Civil War Comments Reveal About Him

President Trump’s comments about Andrew Jackson and the Civil War reveal something about how he thinks, and it’s not good.

Joe Biden In 2020? Probably Not

There’s already speculation that former Vice-President Biden might try for a third run at the White House, but it seems unlikely.

Trump Skips Nerd Prom, Attacks The Press In Speech To Supporters

Instead of attending the White House Correspondents Association Dinner, Donald Trump spent his Saturday attacking the press and the First Amendment.

Evaluating Trump’s First 100 Days

After 100 days in office, President Trump has very little to show for his work except to show that there’s no reason to trust his judgment going forward.

Another North Korean Missile Test Fails As Tensions Continue To Rise

The North Koreans failed to successfully test a longer-range missile again yesterday, but tensions on the Korean Peninsula seem destined to increase in any case.

Donald Trump Shrugging Donald Trump Shrugging

Donald Trump: I Thought Being President Would Be Easy

Donald Trump discovers reality.

Trump’s First Quarter GDP Numbers Aren’t Exactly Impressive

The first scorecard for President Trump’s first economic quarter in office isn’t exactly very good.

House Drops Plan For Immediate Vote On Health Care Reform

Once again, the GOP punts on ‘repeal and replace’ because they don’t have the votes.

Passage Of Republican Health Care Bill Looking Less Likely

The Freedom Caucus may be mollified, but moderate Republicans and the Senate aren’t. Meaning that repeal and replacement of Obamacare is becoming less likely.

Trump Administration Introduces Tax Plan, But Comes Up Short On Details

The Trump Administration is out with a tax plan, but it’s seriously lacking in details.

House Freedom Caucus Backs Health Care Reform Bill That Republicans Haven’t Revealed Yet

The House Freedom Caucus is apparently getting behind a revised version of the GOP’s plan to ‘repeal and replace’ the Affordable Care Act, but the GOP hasn’t revealed what the new plan entails.

Trump Drops Demand For Border Wall Funding As Congress Tries To Avoid Government Shutdown

With a government shutdown looming at the end of the week, the Administration has appeared to back away from a demand that a government funding bill include money allocated for the President’s promised border wall.

Federal Judge Slaps Down Trump Executive Order On ‘Sanctuary Cities’

Another Federal Court has found another Trump Executive Order unconstitutional.

Democrats Are More Out Of Step Than Republicans, Poll Says

Polling indicates that voters find the Democratic Party to be even more out of step than the Republican Party.

Why Hillary Clinton Lost

Six months after the election, the postmortems of the Clinton campaign all seem to have one thing in common, they all point at things other than the candidate and her campaign as being the reason she lost.

Macron and Le Pen Advance To Runoff In French Presidential Election

French voters face a stark choice in the May 7th runoff for President. Hopefully, they’ll make the correct choice.

As End Of First Hundred Days Nears, Trump’s Job Approval Continues To Slump

As he nears the end of his first 100 days in office, President Trump continues to suffer from bad poll numbers.

Yes, The First Amendment Does Protect So-Called ‘Hate Speech’

Even the most offensive speech is protected by the First Amendment.

White House Pushing Congress To Revisit Failed Effort To Repeal And Replace Obamacare

Faced with the fact that it has little to show for its first 100 days in office, the Trump Administration is pressuring Congress to come up with a new health care reform bill before the end of next week.

Supreme Court Makes It Harder For States To Keep Fines Paid By Exonerated Defendants

The Supreme Court made it harder for states to keep fines and other payments in cases where defendants are exonerated.

Supreme Court Considers Church-State Separation Case

The Supreme Court heard oral argument yesterday in a case dealing with whether Missouri can deny a religious school from participating in a program to make school playgrounds safer.

Another Supreme Court Vacancy This Summer?

The Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee is hinting at a new Supreme Court vacancy this summer.

Bill O’Reilly Out At Fox News Channel

Another big change at Fox News Channel.

Democrat Falls Short Of Avoiding Runoff In Republican District In Georgia

Democrats came close to picking up what has been a solidly Republican seat for nearly forty years but ended up falling short. Instead, we’ll have a runoff in two months.

British Prime Minister Calls For Snap Election On June 8th

A political surprise in Great Britain as Prime Minister Theresa May calls a snap election for June 8th.

Trump’s Bad Poll Numbers Are Starting To Impact The GOP

President Trump’s job approval woes are starting to impact the GOP as a whole.

Can States Require Candidates For President To Release Tax Returns? Probably Not.

States are considering laws that would require candidates for President to release their tax returns, but such laws are probably unconstitutional.